Feds: Gang bust may have netted wrong guy

John ZarembaMonday, January 28, 2013

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One of the 30 alleged drug pushers busted in a fed-led takedown of gangs in Dorchester and Roxbury this month has been sprung from jail, after authorities admitted in court filings they may have grabbed the wrong guy.

Prosecutors say they have “sufficient doubt” as to whether O’Neil Taylor is indeed a crack cook who goes by the street name of “Chew.”

“Further investigation has indicated that there is a person in the neighborhood and who is known to associate with the defendants who looks very much like Mr. Taylor (same physical build) and who allegedly goes by the name of ‘CHEW,’ ” they wrote.

“Although Mr. Taylor or his vehicle was regularly in the Hendry Street area and he may in fact be the person involved in the drug conspiracy, there is sufficient doubt right now that the government believes it is in the interest of justice to release Mr. O’Neil pending further investigation regarding the identity of ‘CHEW,’ ” prosecutors wrote.

Taylor was one of 30 people arrested in an early-morning raid Jan. 17 as part of a bust that targeted gangs on Hendry Street in Dorchester and Woodward Avenue in Roxbury.

Magistrate Judge Robert B. Collings ordered Taylor to appear at further court proceedings, keep a valid address on file, stay away from guns and drugs, tell authorities if he has a run-in with cops, provide proof of employment and refrain from speaking with any of the other defendants.